Carlos
Carlos My story! The island is definitely the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I’m able to let go, to use my uh… special abilities. And al the adventure! After the fight in the volcano with Ad- oh man, I’m getting ahead of myself again aren’t I? Sorry. As my Tia Camila would've said, “Don’t get your cart before your horse.” My name’s Carlos. If you can’t tell by the “Tia” reference, my family is Hispanic. If you didn't catch that, put down the book, and grab yourself a spanish english dictionary. I think it might have been a bit of a shock when I came out with pale skin and shocking white hair. The doctors say it’s some kind of pigmental genetic modification thingy. Maybe I should mention that aside from the pigment, I also have ADD, ADHD, OCD, and any other kinda acronym you care to mention. The air and I have a special relationship. There’s always been something different about me, like, I always give people static shocks, any time I touch them. And that one time in third grade. Some kids were chasing me, and suddenly, I was flying! I was only hovering a few inches off the ground so no one noticed, but I rocketed away from those bullies faster than you could say cheese nibble. The air, it helps me. It likes me. I guess the story, at least my part of it, starts with the plane. My 10th grade Spanish class was taking the end of the year trip to Spain. Only problem is; we were flying there. It’s not the plane that bothers me. A lot of kids are scared of heights. Not me. Nothing gets my heart pumping like seeing the ground rushing by, and then slowly shrinking into specks as the plane takes off. No. What I’m scared of is the water. To get to Spain, we had to fly over the ocean. Yeah, I know it’s dumb, but I’m terrified of water. It looks up at me, calls me in. Tells me it’d be easier to give up, to drown. That’s why I like the air. In the air, I can get away from it all. The air lets me be free. It soothes me, tells me it’ll be okay, and calms me down. So there I was, trying not to listen to the calling of the turbulent ocean below me, when Barney comes over. Barney is a mountain of a kid with an overactive pituitary gland and a brain the size of a walnut. Six feet tall, and at least two feet wide, Barney is the king of the world, or at least he thinks he is. Actually, Barney has trouble counting to ten. It’s just that no one wants to tell him that. “Hey shrimp.” As you can see, Barney’s insults are definitely lacking something. “Hey shrimp, I’m talking to you” Barney rumbled. His voice sounded like a dying sheep. And don’t ask me how I know what a dying sheep sounds like. I’ve had a very eventful life, let’s just leave at that. “Hello, earth to shrimp?” I gave in. “Okay, Barney, I give up. Whadya want?” “Nothin…” I forgot to mention that Barney is the least convincing liar ever. Just then, Barney, ‘accidently’ tripped into me, pushing me into the widow. I saw the waves. They lashed up, laughing. “Come to me Carlos… Fall into the waves… even death is preferable to what awaits you…” “No…” I scrambled back from the window. I tried to hide it, but it was too late. There was no way Barney hadn’t seen the look of horror plastered to my face. “Afraid of a little water?” he crooned “Little Carlos is afraid of water!” He’d finally found it. The only crack in my defenses. “No I’m not.” But my face gave me away. “Carlos’s afraid of water, Carlos is afraid of water…” “No I’m not!” I said, more forcefully this time. “Carlos’s afraid of water, Carlos is afraid of water…” I felt a familiar twinge form around my fingertips. If I had looked down, I would have seen blue sparks ark between my fingers. Outside, where a second ago there was calm, huge thunderclouds burst into existence. The wind picked up. A torrent of rain fell. The waves came faster and faster. I felt my anger rising. “No I’m not!” I screamed. My hands were positively glowing now. Electricity was fizzing wildly in the air. I felt the buzzing in my hands reach its peak. I raised my arms, and screamed even louder. As if answering my call, the sky split, and a gigantic blue bolt of lightning struck the plane. ****** As soon as the lightning struck, chaos erupted. The engines blew out simultaneously. The power overloaded, and the lights fizzed out. The emergency gas masks dropped from the ceiling, but my classmates were too panicked to notice. The heavy winds picked the plane up, and spun it out of control. “Please, keep calm!” the pilot screamed, not sounding overly calm himself. The chaperones started grabbing the kids and preparing us for the imminent crash. We were put into pairs, and handed a flotation device. I was paired with Barney, but that was the least of my concerns. “We’re supposed to go into that!?” I yelled, hysterically pointing at the ocean below. The pilot nodded, looking terrified. The plane was suddenly gripped by a tremendous gust of wind. The door was ripped open and I was flung out, only holding on to the plane with one hand. The pilot reached out his hand. I don’t know what came over me. I could have made back on, I know I could. But suddenly, I was overcome with an urge to let go, to trust in the wind. So I did. It was a decision I regretted immediately. I was buffered this way and that, hurtling for the water below. I spun round and round, getting dizzier as I went. I could see the raging waves, laughing up at me. “Yes… come to me…” I fell, terrified. I pleaded with the wind, asked it to take me away from the water, anywhere but the water. The ocean opened its hungry mouth, eager to swallow me forever. I asked the wind one last time, to help me, and then fainted. I awoke to a misty mountaintop with clouds thick around me. It felt like being under a light, soggy blanket. The ground was cool, damp rock. I got shakily to my feet. Then I noticed that I seemed heavier than normal. I looked to my left. There on my shoulder was a green lizard. It had yellow stripes, and what looked to be a collar around its neck, with a smoky white stone in the front. Obviously not expecting a lizard on my shoulder, I jumped back with a yelp. The lizard jumped back too, but instead of falling on his rear-end like an idiot like I did, he spread a pair of thin wings and glided to the ground. For a moment, I was dumbfounded. Was this a dragon? But then I remembered something I’d seen on a nature show once. “Hey, you’re a… a… a Draco lizard! Yeah, that’s right!” as if in conformation, the lizard scampered over to me and ran up my arm. As he sat on my shoulder, I noticed a strange pattern on his back. Right in the middle of his scaly body was a blue spot that looked just like a lightning bolt. “Whoa! Sweet! I’m gonna call you strike! Wait, that’s boring. Hm… I know! Stryke! Awesomesauce!” Stryke ran up on my head and spun around happily. I laughed. “I think we’re going to get along just fine!” I said, still smiling. I took another look at my surroundings. Then I remembered the plane. I should have felt sad to have left my classmates, but I didn’t. I don’t have any friends at school anyway. “Well, I say we go exploring. We’re gonna need some food.” Stryke jumped off my shoulder and glided to the ground. He started running away, then stopped and turned his head, like he wanted me to follow. “Okay then! Let’s go exploring!” Section heading Write the second section of your page here.